Finger exerciser

ABSTRACT

A finger exerciser has a frame with a thumb receiving portion that includes a thumb receiving aperture. Four stretchable elements are mounted in a spaced relationship to a portion of the frame substantially opposed to the thumb receiving portion and extend toward the thumb receiving portion. A finger receiving element is attached to the distal end of each stretchable element. The stretchable elements are preferably springs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates generally to exercise devices, more particularlyto devices for exercising the fingers, and most particularly to fingerexercisers for guitar players.

2. Description of the Prior Art

While strumming a guitar with one hand, a guitar player grips the neckof the guitar with the other hand, placing the thumb directly behind theneck and pressing down on the guitar strings with the fingers to makecontact with the guitar frets, thereby changing the sound of thevibrating strings. Similar finger action is required for playing otherstringed instruments, such as violins, cellos, and the like. Thisrepetitive motion requires a lot of finger strength. Therefore it wouldbe advantageous to provide a device for exercising and strengthening thefingers of a guitar player or other stringed instrument player.

Many devices are found in the prior art of finger exercisers. U.S. Pat.No. 4,455,019 to Harris shows an exerciser for fingers that relies on aseries of weights attached to pulleys which provide a resistive force tofingers inserted into loops. U.S. Pat. No. D 352,764, also shows adesign for a finger exerciser, wherein the fingers press down aplurality of plungers that have springs supplying opposing force. Otherdesign patents include U.S. Pat. Nos. D 419,210, D 418,560, D 418,160,and D 416,299. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,911,011; 6,406,406; 5,820,522; and6,951,529 show other prior art. None of the aforementioned utility ordesign patents show an exerciser where the user has his or her thumb infull opposition to the hand, as is required in the use of stringedinstruments, and as provided for in the device of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention, a finger exerciser has a frame with athumb receiving portion that defines a thumb receiving aperture therein.Four stretchable elements are mounted in a spaced relationship to aportion of the frame substantially opposed to the thumb receivingportion and extend toward the thumb receiving portion. A fingerreceiving element is attached to the distal end of each stretchableelement.

In another aspect of the invention, a finger exerciser has asubstantially rigid frame with a thumb receiving portion that defines athumb receiving aperture therein. Four springs are mounted in a spacedrelationship to a portion of the frame substantially opposed to thethumb receiving portion and extend toward the thumb receiving portion.At the distal ends of the springs, four finger receiving elements areattached.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of the finger exerciser of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of an alternate embodiment of the finger exerciserof the invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a finger exerciser of the invention withfingers and thumb inserted therein.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a finger exerciser of the invention withfingers and thumb inserted therein and pointed toward a simulated neckportion or frets of a guitar.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a finger exerciser 10 of the invention formed of a frame 12having a thumb receiving portion 14 thereof. The frame 12 has an openinterior. Thumb receiving portion 14 defines therein a thumb receivingaperture 16. Mounted to a portion 18 of frame 12 that is substantiallyopposed to thumb receiving portion 14 are four stretchable elements 20.The stretchable elements 20 are mounted in a spaced relationship andextend inwardly into the open interior of frame 12 from portion 18toward portion 14. Connected to the distal ends from the frame 12 ofeach stretchable element 20 is a finger receiving element 22.

FIG. 2 shows an alternate embodiment of the invention incorporating thesame elements but having a circular frame shape. Finger exerciser 30 isformed of a circular frame 32 with a thumb receiving portion 34 having athumb receiving aperture 36. If desired, the thumb receiving aperature36 can have a cap (not shown) in it for limiting the extent ofpenetration of the thumb into the aperature. Four stretchable elements40 are mounted to a portion 38 of frame 32 that is substantially opposedto thumb receiving portion 34. The stretchable elements 40 are spacedand extend toward portion 34. A finger receiving element 42 is connectedto the distal end from the frame 32 of each stretchable element 40.

Frame 12, 32 is made of a substantially rigid material, e.g. plastic,metal or wood. The frames may be of practically any shape that allowsfor proper positioning of the fingers of the hand. Frame 12 issubstantially rectangular or slightly trapezoidal but could also besquare or other polygonal shape. If the shape is substantially that ofsome type of parallelogram or polygon, the corners will generally berounded, as in FIG. 1, so there are no sharp corners. Frame 32 issubstantially circular but could also be more oval or other roundedform. More elaborate shapes can be used for appearance but they do notchange the operation of the invention. Thumb receiving portions 14, 34and stretchable element attachment portions 18, 38 will typically besomewhat wider than the rest of frames 12, 32.

The stretchable elements 20, 40 are preferably springs but may be anyother element that stretches under tension and retracts when tension isreleased. For example, rubber straps or bands could be used. Fingerreceiving elements 22, 42 may be simple open loops into which thefingers extend or may be closed finger caps into which the tips of thefingers are inserted.

FIG. 3 illustrates the operation of the invention, using a fingerexerciser 30 as shown in FIG. 2. A hand 50 grips the exerciser 30 withthumb 52 extending into aperture 36 in portion 34 of flame 32. Fingers54 extend into finger caps 56 (finger receiving elements 42) which areattached to portion 38 of frame 32 by springs 58 (stretchable elements40). Springs 58 are initially in an unstretched position. Each finger 54can then be contracted or squeezed toward the thumb 52, pulling againstthe force of the spring 58, and then relaxed, letting the spring 58return to its unstretched position. By repeating this process over andover, with all of the fingers, the finger muscles can be exercised andstrengthened.

FIG. 4 illustrates the operation of the invention in combination with asimulated guitar neck. A finger exerciser 30, as shown in FIG. 2, has asimulated guitar neck 60 with frets positioned on the inside surface ofportion 34 of the frame 30. The thumb 52 extends through aperture 36 inframe 32 and contacts the undersurface of simulated neck 60. The fingers54 extend into finger caps 56 which are attached to the frame 32 bysprings 58. The fingers 54 can then pull against springs 58 until fingercaps 56 touch the fingerboard between the frets of neck 60, as is thecase with an actual guitar.

The finger exercisers of the invention may come in one or more standardsizes but they can also be customized for an individual user. Anillustrative size of frame 12 of FIG. 1 is about 7 inches wide and 7inches high with a frame width of about ½ to ¾ inches. An illustrativesize of frame 32 of FIG. 2 is about 8 inches in diameter with a framewidth of about ¾ to 1 inch. The size should allow for the properorientation of a hand gripping the exerciser. Thus the size of theexerciser can be different for different size hands. The frame could besmaller for smaller hands, e.g. for children.

The lengths of the springs or other stretchable elements is preferablynot uniform but varied to account for the different lengths of aperson's four fingers. For example, in FIGS. 1, 2 the four fingerreceiving elements are from left to right for the pinkie, ring, middleand index fingers respectively. The two end ones have longer springs andare thus closer to the thumb aperture than the two center ones toaccommodate the hand shape and finger length of a user. One exercisercan be used with either the left or right hand, either by gripping theexerciser with each hand from the same side, or else from opposite sidesof the exerciser.

The spring lengths are chosen so that in their unstretched position, thefinger receiving elements are positioned to receive the fingers of arelaxed hand. The springs are then stretched by finger motion toward thethumb and relaxed by finger motion back to the starting position. Thespring force or tension is chosen to provide a reasonable level ofexercise. Thus, again, there can be more than one model, with differentspring tensions for different users. Stronger users may need higherspring tension while weaker users may desire lower spring force. Thespring tensions for individual fingers may also be different.

Accordingly the invention provides a simple exercise device that isdesigned to provide suitable finger exercise for guitar players andother stringed instrument players. The exerciser can also be used forother purposes, e.g. for physical therapy or therapeutic purposes.Devices for general use or customized devices for individual users maybe provided.

Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments canbe carried out without departing from the scope of the invention whichis intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

1. A finger exerciser, comprising: a peripheral frame defining an openinterior space, said frame having a thumb receiving portion thereofdefining a thumb receiving aperture therein: four stretchable elementsmounted in a spaced relationship to a portion of the frame substantiallyopposed to the thumb receiving portion projecting into said interiorspace and extending toward the thumb receiving portion; and four fingerelements, one attached to the distal end of each stretchable element. 2.The finger exerciser of claim 1 wherein the frame is substantiallypolygonal in shape.
 3. The finger exerciser of claim 1 wherein the frameis substantially round in shape.
 4. The finger exerciser of claim 1wherein the stretchable elements are springs.
 5. The finger exerciser ofclaim 1 wherein the finger receiving elements are open loops.
 6. Thefinger exerciser of claim 1 wherein the finger receiving elements areclosed finger caps.
 7. The finger exerciser of claim 1 wherein the frameis made of a substantially rigid material.
 8. The finger exerciser ofclaim 1 wherein the frame is made of plastic, metal or wood.
 9. Thefinger exerciser of claim 1 wherein the frame has a size selected for auser's hand size.
 10. The finger exerciser of claim 1 wherein the fourstretchable elements are of varying length.
 11. The finger exerciser ofclaim 10 wherein the four stretchable elements are selected for thelengths of the corresponding fingers to be inserted in the attachedfinger receiving elements.
 12. The finger exerciser of claim 4 whereinthe four springs are of varying length.
 13. The finger exerciser ofclaim 12 wherein the lengths of the four springs are selected for thelengths of the corresponding fingers to be inserted into the attachedfinger receiving elements.
 14. A finger exerciser, comprising: asubstantially rigid peripheral frame defining an open interior space,said frame having a thumb receiving portion thereof defining a thumbreceiving aperture therein; four springs mounted in a spacedrelationship to a portion of the frame, and extending into said interiorspace, said springs being substantially opposed to the thumb receivingportion and extending toward the thumb receiving portion; and fourfinger receiving elements, one attached to the distal end of eachspring.
 15. The finger exerciser of claim 14 wherein the fingerreceiving elements are open loops or closed finger caps.
 16. The fingerexerciser of claim 14 wherein the four springs are not all of the samelength.
 17. The finger exerciser of claim 16 wherein the lengths of thefour springs are selected for the lengths of the corresponding fingersto be inserted into the attached finger receiving elements.
 18. Thefinger exerciser of claim 14 wherein the frame has a size selected for auser's hand size.